Weichselberg Manor

The manor, also known locally as the ‘štok’, is among the oldest buildings in town. Townspeople used this name because at the time it was one of the few buildings with an upper storey. Together with its outbuildings and park, it once formed a manor complex on the northern edge of the market settlement.

One of the manor's earliest owners may have been Hanns Meusenreiter, chancellor to Count Hermann II of Celje and founder of Laško's hospital. In 1506 it was purchased by market judge Sigismund Weichselberg (Žiga Višnjegorski).

Knight Weichselberg was an important political figure. In 1528 he travelled to Constantinople as an imperial envoy in an attempt to persuade the Ottoman sultan to stop attacks on these lands. His diplomatic efforts failed, and he later fought the Ottomans at Vienna and near Maribor.

Sigismund Weichselberg was also connected with Primož Trubar. It is not known exactly how much time he spent in Laško during Trubar's service here, since he travelled widely as a representative of the Carniolan nobility to assemblies in Austria and Germany, where he probably became acquainted with the Reformation. Trubar mentioned Weichselberg in his writings, so it is highly likely that the two met either in Laško or perhaps in Radeče, where Weichselberg owned nearby Žlebnik Castle. Weichselberg made no secret of his sympathy for the Reformation, and it is entirely possible that he and Trubar found common ground in religious matters. Weichselberg's friends among Ljubljana nobles and clergy who also supported reform may even have helped bring Trubar to Ljubljana.

Everything suggests that after acquiring the estate Sigismund Weichselberg completely demolished the earlier residential building and constructed a new one on its foundations. Outbuildings and a park were added later. Weichselberg Manor has a simple rectangular ground plan and a massive hipped roof. The courtyard façade is formed by arcades on square-section pillars. Two late-Gothic stone portals survive in the cellar. The interior has been substantially altered and no longer reflects its original arrangement. Today the manor houses the Laško Library.